Chapter 6: Ito Hirobumi

Naturally, Japan had already been preparing to take over Korea even before Qing China protested, so it quickly learned of the news from Gando and Manchuria.

“This is quite an ambitious move by the Joseon army. If Joseon grows in strength, wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“The Emperor of Joseon is quite clever. I heard that he made the Gando administrator, Lee Beomyun, act like a warlord and allowed him to operate independently.”

That fox-like Emperor of Joseon is cleverly avoiding responsibility.

How ridiculous this all seems.

But unfortunately, due to its need for a foothold in China, the Empire couldn’t intervene in the dispute between Joseon and Qing China.

“So, what should our Empire do?”

“The reason Joseon is so reckless is because behind them are France and Russia. Of course, they aren’t providing military support, but they are likely offering supplies.”

This meant that Japan had tacitly allowed Joseon to march into Manchuria.

At this time, Japan was not yet strong enough to oppose Russia and France.

“Well, if Qing China is in such a state, can we really call them a country?”

“Should we condemn Joseon, or should we support them?”

“Support them? Why would we spill the blood of the Imperial Army to help a country we should swallow?”

The thought of supporting Joseon, a country that Japan was supposed to devour, was madness.

There were many debates at the General Staff, but it was time to look at the situation more calmly.

“If Joseon is trying to absorb Manchuria, do you think it’ll happen in just one or two years? They don’t have the strength. If they try to take Manchuria, we just need to swallow them again.”

“That’s a valid point!”

Japan was already focusing on Xiamen.

To colonize Fujian Province, the Empire would need to exert more effort.

If they were to consume the Korean Empire and then push into Manchuria, it would drain even more resources.

In that case, it might be better to stay hands-off and let the situation play out.

“First, let’s treat this as a war and send a resident officer to observe the level of the Joseon forces in Manchuria.”

“No, I will go myself.”

“The Chairman of the Privy Council?”

Ito Hirobumi, the Chairman of the Privy Council of the Empire of Japan, decided to personally investigate the situation in Gando.

“Looks like Korea is quite skilled at fighting.”

“Of course! Who do you think trained their army? It’s only natural. Hahaha!”

Meanwhile, foreign diplomats staying in Korea were shocked by the Korean Empire’s advance into Manchuria, to the point that they began to question if this was the same country on the brink of collapse.

This naturally led to more interest in Lee Beomyun.

Additionally, Emperor Gojong of the Korean Empire was very pleased when he read the report Lee Beomyun had submitted.

Although he was initially worried about Lee taking such a large force, he was told that the Korean forces had utterly defeated the Qing army in Fengtian and Jilin.

Even photos of the Imperial army marching through the streets of Fengtian were said to rival the pride of the Imperial Army that the Japanese were so proud of.

“At this rate, could it be possible to recover Manchuria?”

This led to some unnecessary thoughts.

‘Could it really be possible to recover Manchuria?’

“Absolutely not. If Korea is truly aiming for Manchuria, the mother country might invade Korea.”

However, the Russian diplomat in Seoul, Karl Weber, who had the Emperor’s trust, managed to dissuade Gojong, and Gojong reluctantly decided to settle for Gando.

“General Lee Beomyun, the administrator of Gando, has repelled every Qing soldier he encountered, restoring the honor lost at the Battle of Samjeondo!”

“Has there ever been such a great victory since Samjeondo? Long live the Emperor! Long live the Korean Empire!”

The Koreans, who had been crushed by a sense of defeat and had their pride buried since Japan’s invasion, regained confidence.

No, perhaps it wasn’t just confidence they regained.

Now, discussions were even circulating about whether they should officially support the artillery units.

In fact, Emperor Gojong had already sent additional forces to Lee Beomyun in the northern army to help solidify control of Gando, and the Korean troops stationed there had already grown to over 10,000 soldiers, including Lee’s personal soldiers.

Though the Korean army had once faced trouble with the Uibodan, they now stood as the unquestionable rulers of Gando.

“Do you know about the Nishirozen Agreement?”

It was an agreement where, without the Korean government’s knowledge, Russia and Japan recognized each other’s spheres of influence.

Japan recognized the Korean Peninsula, while Russia recognized Manchuria.

In return, both nations agreed not to interfere in the internal affairs of the Korean Empire and not to hinder Japan’s investment in Korea’s development.

But ultimately, this was a hollow agreement, and it would eventually lead to the Russo-Japanese War.

For now, Japan had accepted Russia’s dominance over Manchuria and had focused on Fujian Province, but it didn’t seem like Japan was ready to give up on the Korean Peninsula.

Indeed, foreign nationals, including Japanese people, had already begun to come here.

Since the Korean government was pretending to be unaware of this, it made sense.

But the other great powers, with their sharp senses, understood that Gojong was secretly scheming and began sending people to the region.

A number of French officers who had been stationed in Korea were now in Gando.

It seemed clear that the French officers had influenced the northern army.

And no matter how hard I tried to hide it, rumors still spread.

The rumors about me were now widely known, and even the foreigners who had entered Gando were aware of them.

Here, I needed to present myself well.

I couldn’t just march into Gando and then move on to Manchuria with an empty show.

I had to appear as if I was truly solid and prepared.

I met with the French officers directly.

• “You caused this mess, so you should deal with the consequences.”

Lee Beomyun found it amusing that he tried to pass the responsibility for managing the soldiers onto me.

To be exact, he said he was going to meet with Russian officials and also take care of the soldiers, but could I really handle this all alone as a young woman?

• “I suppose it’s because of my language skills. As a multilingual jack-of-all-trades, now is the time for me to step up.”

“You were the one leading the battle at Fengtian? How surprising!”

The French officers were fascinated by me.

“This must be due to the training from the French advisory team, right? It wouldn’t have been possible without the best army in Europe, France.”

These frogs would be pleased if I flattered them just enough.

I figured I could win some points if I said it in my own words.

Look at them, their eyes blinking in surprise at what I said.

“Your French is quite fluent.”

“I’ve had a longing for European countries since I was young, so I studied as much as I could. Of all the languages, French was the first one I learned.”

This should make the French feel good.

I thought about sucking up a bit more, but there are people from other countries here besides France.

For now, I decided to act as orderly as possible.

“Hahaha! That’s right, that’s right. France is truly the best in Europe! It’s an honor that this beautiful lady from the Far East admires France.”

“I deeply admire Jeanne d’Arc, the woman who saved France from crisis. Isn’t she a saint who saved the country with her own body?”

I really admire Jeanne d’Arc.

Perhaps, for the French, knowing that a woman from the Far East knows their saint might raise their favorability a bit?

“Hahaha! If it’s you, miss, it’s certainly possible.”

“We will contact our homeland and request weapons for the Gando military to arm themselves.”

Hah, this flattery feels a bit much.

It would be too easy to ignore them, but France has quite a bit of influence over the northern military of the Korean Empire.

After France, the next most powerful group is the Japanese.

But I never expected Ito Hirobumi to be here.

“Is this the crazy woman who’s been causing trouble in Manchuria?”

Meeting Ito Hirobumi, I couldn’t help but feel disgusted by the way he looked at me.

His gaze, a clear objectification, made me uncomfortable.

‘What have I done to deserve such a look from this old man?’

But I wasn’t flustered at all.

“Do you know? Women can tell when someone is looking at them with greedy eyes. If someone as high-ranking as the Chairman of the Privy Council were to harass me and end up shot here, wouldn’t it just be a laughingstock?”

“Ahem. My apologies. You are quite clean, just like a European woman. And, you speak Japanese fluently. I was surprised before coming here when I heard it was just a girl who had accomplished something.”

“It’s true. I didn’t think this would spread so quickly.”

“Wouldn’t the Korean government hear about this soon enough?”

“Well, there’s no need to hide anything from Ito. Although we may seem like warlords, we’re basically the army of Emperor Gojong.”

“To fight for the country, what does gender matter? It’s all about loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor.”

Someday, I’ll have to break that military tyrant’s skull, but for now, at least I should pretend to be loyal.

“You already seem strong enough, but how strong do you want to get?”

‘Is he mocking me?’ No matter how strong they get, it won’t matter.

This old man is the most dangerous, and I need to watch him closely.

I can already sense that he’s keeping us in check.

“At the very least, I need to be strong enough to cripple those who invade our land, don’t I?”

“It seems your words have a sting.”

“Only with that level of resolve will anyone stop underestimating our country.”

“Do you have no intention of working for Japan?”

The serious look on his face as he tried to win me over almost made me punch him, but I held back.

‘Who does he think I am, trying to turn me into a pro-Japanese traitor?’ Not a chance.

A pro-Japanese in this era is nothing more than a traitor to the country.

“My loyalty is solely to His Majesty the Emperor and the Korean Empire.”

“That’s unfortunate. Our Empire is concerned about the Korean Empire growing closer to Russia. What do you think about that?”

‘Whether we get close to Russia or not, what business is it of theirs?’

‘Japan daring to tell us what to do, is this what they’re implying?’

“After the Nishirozen Agreement and the recent Shin-chuk Treaty, Japan has already acknowledged Russia’s sphere of influence on the Korean Peninsula. Isn’t that right?”

‘Does he think I’m stupid?’

“You knew that too?”

“I’ve learned a lot from watching Japan.”

I casually glanced into the air, changing the subject as I spoke.

“Oh, is that so? Please, go on.”

“Our Empire must show strength to the strong and compassion to the weak. Therefore, we crushed the Qing army in Manchuria.”

Ito Hirobumi’s face turned red at my words.

It seems he has a lot to say, but he’s holding back because of the foreigners around.

We exchanged glances for a long time.

We fought silently with our eyes, as if sparring in the air.

“Well, we didn’t gather here to argue, did we? This British Ambassador to Korea, Jordan, does not wish to see a fight between the Gando warlords and Japan.”

***

‘What is this? Why is this foreigner here?’

‘British Ambassador to Korea Jordan? What kind of nobody is this?’

From the way he’s here near the Russo-Japanese War, he’s probably just another person trying to take advantage of Korea.

“What brings you to this place, Your Excellency from the British Empire?”

“I heard that the person who achieved great things in the Battle of Fengtian was a woman, and I became interested.”

This is serious.

If even the British know about this, the Emperor might call for me soon.

If that happens, I feel like that tyrant will want to call me just out of curiosity.

At this point, it might be better to just lay everything on the table.

“Well, now that you’ve seen, how about showing your hand? We still have many Qing troops to deal with, so we can’t afford to waste time here.”

“Support?”

The British Empire and the Japanese Empire are thinking of supporting the Gando warlord, Lee Beomyun, with supplies to fight Russia.

They probably won’t be sending troops.

They’ll supply us with weapons and want us to fight Russia.

This is what they’re asking.

And in return, they might offer us Manchuria.

Or maybe they see us as potential partners to fight Russia after seeing our performance?

“They’re offering military supplies for the conquest of Manchuria.”

Ha, in the end, they want us to fight Russia and die for them.

This is what they mean.